I recently had the pleasure of joining Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard on their podcast Modem Futura for what turned into a wonderfully sprawling conversation about AI and education—one that went far beyond the typical “robots in classrooms” narrative that dominates so much of today’s discourse.

Before we dove into the deep end, I couldn’t resist asking about the show’s intriguing name. As Sean explained with evident delight (apparently, I was the first guest in 30+ episodes to ask!), “Modem Futura” is a clever portmanteau: “modem” combines “modulate” and “demodulate”—the process of translating different kinds of signals to make sense of them—while “Futura” is Latin for futures. It’s a perfect metaphor for what they do on the show: taking the complex signals, trends, and drivers of our technological moment and translating them into meaningful insights about our possible futures. There’s even a 56K modem handshake sound hidden in their intro music for those nostalgic enough to recognize it!

What started as a discussion about AI in education quickly (d)evolved into a laughter filled exploration of what it truly means to learn, to teach, and to remain human in an increasingly algorithmic world. We dug into why the promise of “personalized learning” often misses the mark, and how caring—not just about outcomes, but about the discipline itself—might be the secret ingredient that makes all the difference. We meandered through John Dewey’s timeless insights; the dangerous allure of frictionless education; and why we believed universities must serve as society’s “flywheel”—slowing down runaway technological change long enough for us to ask the essential “what if” questions.

We also explored some provocative territory: What happens when AI becomes so persuasive that even experts begin to trust it uncritically? And perhaps most importantly, what role should human connection and embodied experience play in a world where knowledge feels increasingly text-bound and divorced from the real world.

Andrew and Sean are wonderful hosts, and this was one of the most fun conversations I have had in a while. It was a super substantive conversation (lest you think otherwise) but also filled with random digressions, laughter and genuine engagement.

The full conversation is available below as an embedded YouTube video or through the links below (on your favorite podcast platforms).

• Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3ZDH8vg
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6KbrUVOVvhkwRCDgCfES6g?si=26604ba0c6b74dd1
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/UcHdA8-cwDU